In place of the normal JULY CAMPOUT we attended the FMCA International Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota.  The members able to make the trek to St, Paul were the Eich, Ellsworth, Holecek, Klaas, Kriz, Long, Morris, Purcell, Schlie, Semitekol, Thornton, Vitte, Williams and Zigler
The Holeceks and Schlies arrived on Thursday, a day early, and parked overnight in the holding area.  We parked under the parking lot lights only to discover they did not turn on, which was upsetting because a thunderstorm came through and we could have used the light.  Friday afternoon Kriz, Long, Semitekol, Thornton, Vitte, Williams and Zigler arrived and, as a group, we were lead into the fairgrounds and parked in a small parking lot behind a building which gave us some privacy.  Eich parked with the Frustrated Maestros, Ellsworth parked with the vendors as John worked a seminar for Allison, Klaas parked in the handicap area and Purcell parked in the 24 hour electric area.  Morris arrived on Saturday and parked behind the building with the group.  The convention began on Monday.
Being that this convention was in the Midwest we volunteered to help with Security.  The most anyone worked was a shift of 4 hours and a shift of 2 hours.  We were thanked for our help by the Midwest VP and the head of security.
Except for an additional storm on Monday, which cooled things off, the weather was mostly hot.
On Tuesday morning Jim and Linda Vitte with the help of Chuck Schlie cooked a pancake breakfast.  Many thanks for the great food.  Chuck and Jeaneen Schlie had to leave on Tuesday in order to help their daughter and son in-law move into a new home.
Two members bought new coaches.  Glad they were able to keep the US economy moving.  The Kris purchased a Newmar and the Purcell purchased a Monaco.  In addition there were a few lookers but none turned into a purchase.
The fairgrounds was rather large which spread everyone out which was mostly good.  There were seminars to attend and quite a large number of new coaches that were brought into the fairgrounds by dealers,

NEWS:
Jim Vitte’s dad passed away on June 1^st.
Paul Fulkerson (a friend too many of us from the Spinning Wheels) passed away on July 2^nd.
Carl and Mary Jo Willie have sold their motorhome and will not be motorhoming in the future.  Best of luck to them in the future.  I have advised the Willies that we will be at Cheese Days in Monroe and if they have the time they should come by and say hello.
We understand that the Kriz sustained some damage at their winter home in South Padre Island, Texas.  Hopefully it was not very bad.

FUTURE RALLIES
Anyone wishing to attend a regular campout needs to send $10 to Linda Ellsworth our treasurer.  Your $10 is your reservation.  The Cheese Days campout in Monroe, Wisconsin will take place September 19, 20 & 21.  It is not a regular campout and therefore doesn't require the normal fee of $10.  But we do need to know if you plan to attend because it is a first come first serve fairgrounds and Jim Vitte is going on Wednesday to save spaces.
The Sandwich Fair campout, September 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7, however does require $10 to be sent to Linda Ellsworth
October 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 & 11 we will be going to Shipshewana, Indiana.  Please send in your $10 as soon as possible.  Also, reservations have been made for an Amish dinner at an Amish home.  The coast will be $14.95 person and will be from 5:00 to 6:30.
The September campout will have the second of our official biannual meetings.  There will be reports from our secretary (Mary Jo Benhart), treasurer (Linda Ellsworth) and our National Director (Kathy Holecek).  We will also be looking for volunteers to host the 2009 campouts.

A bicycle can’t stand alone; it is two tired.